CSO Audio Program Notes

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Oct 17-20. After Principal Trumpet Christopher Martin's 2007 performance of Haydn's Trumpet Concerto with the CSO, the Chicago Tribune said, "Martin played beautifully spinning, shapely phrases with a sweet, rounded tone, nailing the high-wire runs of the finale with easy brilliance." Martin returns to perform the concerto under James Feddeck, who makes his Symphony Center podium debut. Feddeck also leads Rachmaninov's well-known Second Symphony, a masterpiece brimming with emotion and gorgeous melodies.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Oct 8-13. Conductor Semyon Bychkov brings an imaginative program inspired by Johannes Brahms. His triumphant First Symphony is coupled with a modern-day reflection of Brahms' work by one of Germany's leading composers, Detlev Glanert. French violinist Renaud Capucon, praised for his "intensely lyrical" tone and "gloriously rich sound" (BBC Music Magazine), is the soloist in Brahms' invigorating and heavenly Violin Concerto.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Oct 1-3. From the sweet melancholy of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20, played by Chicago favorite Leif Ove Andsnes, to the unbridled ferocity of Prokofiev's Scythian Suite, this program embraces a wide gamut of emotions. Riccardo Muti also leads Beethoven's hymn to fraternity and liberation, the Leonore Overture No. 3, and Hindemith's intriguing blend of neoclassicism and modernism, strikingly scored for only strings and brass.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Sep 24-29. This colorful program mixes Mediterranean inspiration with electrifying music from Latin America. Ginastera's fiery Harp Concerto is performed by celebrated French harpist Xavier de Maistre, "a virtuoso of the highest order" (Gramophone). Riccardo Muti's last performances of Bolero with the Orchestra in 2007 were hailed as "fresh, subtle. . . and genuinely exciting" (Chicago Tribune). This show-stopper will be an enthralling finish to a delightful program.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Sep 17. The distinctive opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is one of the most instantly recognizable motifs in all Western music. Riccardo Muti conducts the landmark work that inspired generations of composers in a program including Mozart's expressive Symphony No. 40 and Liszt's last symphonic poem, From the Cradle to the Grave.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Jan 8-10. Paul Lewis returns to the CSO for Beethoven's most beloved and charming piano concerto. Vasily Petrenko has equally been acclaimed for his performances of 20th-century Russian repertoire, and this performance of Rachmaninov's wryly apocalyptic Symphonic Dances is sure to be a roof-raiser.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Dec 18-20. Carlos Miguel Prieto combats winter in Chicago with the vibrant and exotic tone poem Sensemayá by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas. Featuring CSO Principal Percussionist Cynthia Yeh as soloist, James MacMillan’s Veni, Veni Emmanuel is a riotous and exuberant showpiece based on the Advent plainchant of the same name. The concert ends with a blazing display of the full orchestra’s virtuosity in Lutoslawski’s bracing and energetic Concerto for Orchestra.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Dec 11-16. Manfred Honeck returns to Chicago to conduct three masterpieces from the Austro-German tradition. The lilting dance-rhythms of Haydn’s Symphony No. 93 and rambunctious rhythms of Beethoven’s Seventh, described by Wagner as “the apotheosis of the dance,” frame Richard Strauss’ Don Juan. In Strauss’ depiction of the legendary lover, a brazen horn call announces a swaggering Don Juan, whose numerous romantic conquests lead to a tragic finale.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Dec 4-9. Encompassing some of Tchaikovsky’s most imaginative creations, The Nutcracker introduced audiences to the twinkling magic of the celesta. Hear excerpts from this beloved ballet alongside Stravinsky’s Petrushka, which depicts the misadventures of a hapless puppet in pursuit of a beautiful ballerina. Ingo Metzmacher combines these fantastical scores with Shostakovich’s vivid and searing portrait of fateful events in the winter of 1905, when the brutal response of Tsarist forces to peaceful demonstration led to near revolution.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Nov 20-25. Among Bach's most beloved and celebrated works, his six Brandenburg Concertos demonstrate some of the most daring and innovative instrumental scoring in the entire Baroque repertoire. Whether the ground-breaking blend of hunting horns and oboes with strings of No. 1, the bright piccolo trumpet of No. 2 (which inspired Paul McCartney's Penny Lane) or the remarkable No. 5 in which the harpsichord strikes out alone above the orchestra for virtuosic glory, this flawless collection of gems is pure delight.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Nov 13-15. Pablo Heras-Casado conducts a colorful program of 20th-century works, including Debussy's sinuous Iberia. Honoring the upcoming 90th birthday of CSO Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez, the CSO plays the musical maverick's first work for full orchestra alone, Figures-Doubles-Prismes, while Alice Sara Ott joins the CSO for Bartok's explosive Third Piano Concerto.

Join us for a rousing start to the 2014/15 season when Riccardo Muti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Beethoven’s most glorious and jubilant masterpiece. An exhilarating testament to the human spirit, Beethoven’s Ninth bursts with brooding power and kinetic energy and culminates in the exultant hymn, “Ode to Joy.”

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO June 19-21. The most popular of Schubert’s symphonies, the Fifth is loved for its radiant melodies. Riccardo Muti and the CSO pair it with one of Mahler’s sunniest inspirations, his First Symphony, which carries the listener on a colorful adventure through forests and rustic dances, concluding with a victorious outburst of horns over even the trumpets.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO June 12-17. Two of Schubert's earliest symphonies reveal both his reverence for Mozart and his prodigious talent. The First Symphony opens majestically, recalling Mozart's grandest symphonies, before sprinting off in a frolicking, carefree style while the Sixth blends wit and light-hearted energy with melodic grace.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO June 5 - 8. Whether a well-calculated concession to Stalin's cultural watchdogs or a magnificent act of subversion and defiance, there is no mistaking the power of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, from its vigorously vaulting opening theme through to its heart-felt slow movement.